NYC---Day 2

The morning was dedicated to seeing another major NYC (and American) highlight: the Statue of Liberty. We couldn't get the tickets to climb inside Lady Liberty, so we took a cruise over to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Even though it was a bit of a cloudy day, we had amazing views of the City skyline and skyscrapers as well as great views of the Statue from the water. Once on Liberty island, we took a great audio tour describing the history (designed by the same engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower) and significance of this beautiful statue and had incredible views of both the Statue and the City---of course, I took numerous pictures of it with my lovely new friend, D90:)




Our next stop was Ellis Island, another very historical and significant place in the US history. Unfortunately, we had very little time there before having to be on our bus back to DC, but I managed to take a quick audio tour of the immigrants' route through the Ellis island facilities: first, the registry room, then health and mental inspection, and then off to various destinations in the US.
Ellis Island


After the quick tour, I took the boat back to Battery Park, then subway to Penn Station, and then the ride back home.

NYC---Day 1

Since I will be becoming a Midwestener come August, I'm trying to do as many fun East Coast things as possible. Even though I had been to New York many times, there were still things that I hadn't done on my previous trips. I also got to meet up with a friend from Russia whom I hadn't seen in many years and who now lives on the Upper West Side in the City.

After the DC metro let us down, once again, we finally got on the bus to New York and after a comfortable trip, took the subway down to our hotel in Lower Manhattan only to find out that because of the volcano eruption in Iceland and the subsequent flight cancellations all over Europe, our hotel was overbooked and we were being sent to....the Ritz Carleton in Central Park!!! After admiring our new digs, our little group split up, and I went to meet with my friend. After a delicious Thai lunch, we walked through the blooming Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We only had a few hours to look around, so we wandered through the Egyptian hall (where I learned that there were several female pharaohs---see below a statue of one of them, whose rule was quite prosperous), the Chinese and Japanese exhibits, and spent some time looking around the painting exhibits dedicated to the works of Impressionists, including my two favorites, Van Gogh and Monet.
Central Park

Female pharaoh Hatshepsut

A Japanese tapestry

After a quick Mexican dinner in Hell's Kitchen, we quickly walked to the Palace Theater in Times Square to catch the West Side Story---seeing a Broadway show was a longstanding wish, and it turned out to be a great experience. Even though the musical was quite sad, it was a great and unique experience that culminated in walking through the vibrant Times Square at night to my lovely dwellings at the Ritz.
Times Square at night

California Adventures---San Francisco, Day 2

On our last day in the sunshine state, we started the morning by doing some shopping at the Union Square area and then walked back to the Ferry Building to get some chai at one of my favorite coffee shops, Peet's Coffee. However, we didn't plan our time very well and were still at Pier 7 or 9 at about 5 minutes until we had to get on our boat to Alcatraz. In 2 seconds, we were in a cab and in 2 minutes, we were at the right pier and made our boat just before it left the dock. We cruised to the island on which this mystical prison stands and were rewarded by amazing views of the city and the Bay bridge.

Alcatraz sits on an island that is only 1.5 miles from San Francisco, but is surrounded by rough and cold waters, which is why there has never been a documented successful escape from the isolated prison (there were 3 guys that managed to escape using spoons to open up air vents, but they were never found or heard from---some say they actually made it to South America). We learned this and other interesting facts on our tour of the premises, which were very grim (I mean, it is a prison after all). The cells were pretty tiny, but fairly light unlike the ones in the discipline block where the cells were more spacious, but completely dark. Some of the famous prisoners to be secluded in Alcatraz were Capone and Birdman. After the prison was shut down in the early sixties, a group of Native Americans from different tribes briefly occupied it in the late sixties wanting to establish an independent territory, but the plot was soon abandoned because of the location.




After making the boat trip back and enjoying some more local delicacies for lunch at a famous local hotspot, Boudin, we walked down the Wharf to Ghiradelli Square where we got some chocolate goodies and then experienced another San Fran public transport, the trolley, back to the Ferry Building (which we ended up visiting 3 or 4times in the span of 1.5 days) to enjoy the cute shops.

E picked us up from out hotel after check-out to enjoy another one of my favorite restaurants, Nan King (best chinese ever!) and some more Peet's before going to SFO for our red-eye home.

California adventures---San Francisco, Day 1

On Sunday morning, after a nice service at E's church, we had another great meal: a brunch at a cute eatery called Dipsea cafe. After saying good-by to E's precious son, M and I started the drive to San Francisco, but, of course, couldn't pass the temptation of stopping by the Marin Headlands one more time for some extra shots of the bridge. Here are some more (I'm noticing a pattern and an emerging obsession with bridges).



After dropping off the rental car at SFO and experiencing BART, the San Francisco metro, we experienced another San Fran public transportation system and a must-do, the cable car. It was fun to ride up and down the city hills, enjoying great views of the city and the most crooked street (really windy street that is surprisingly open to one-way traffic).

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Fisherman's Wharf, trying out some of the local delicacies (clam chowder in a sourdough bowl), exploring the fun shops at Pier 39, and walking all the way down the Embarcadero (street along the water) to the Ferry Building while enjoying the views of the Bay Bridge. After a long day of walking down the city streets, we happily settled into our hotel for the evening.

California adventures---Marin county

For the first few days of the trip we were staying in the beautiful Marin County that has a variety of natural sights. We started the day off in Muir woods, home to a lush grove of ancient and humongous redwood trees.


After a short walk around the grove, we drove up the top of Mount Tamalpais to get amazing vistas of the Bay area, including views of the city of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and even Alcatraz. We walked around the mountain and got some great shots of the beautiful surroundings.


After lunch, E's family joined us for a brief tour of the Marin Headlands, which offer breathtaking views of the Golden Gate bridge, which continues to be one of my favorite American landmarks. This impressive structure is truly immense, and I probably took 50 pictures of it, considering I already took about that many a few years ago on my previous visit.


We then descented to the Rodeo beach and walked around enjoying the water and the surrounding hills (and taking many more pictures). The cute town of Sausalito was next, where we enjoyed the nice harbor and views of the city across the bay.
After dropping off E's husband and son, we embarked on a fun girls' night: first, to my favorite Puerto Rican restaraunt, Sol Food, in San Rafael, and then some delicious gelato and a 3-D viewing of Alice in Wonderland (a bit disappointing).

California adventures---Wine Country

This year for my vacation I decided to go to the beautiful Bay Area where my dear friend E resides with her husband and baby son. One of my good friends from church here in DC came with me on her first visit to California. Since we were there for only a few days, we didn't waste our time and had quite a busy tourist agenda. On our first full day there, we decided to do a short tour of the wine country, visiting the cute town of Sonoma and some wineries in Sonoma and Napa valleys. Even though we were greeted by pouring rain and couldn't figure out how to operate our GPS, we still had a great time. We first walked around Sonoma and enjoying the Cheese Factory (great cheese, wine, and souvenir shop), visiting the Sonoma museum to learn that it once used to be one of the northern-most posts of the Mexican Catholic church (and also learning that part of California used to be colonized by the Russians!). Our lunch was perhaps one of the best meals I've ever had---it was at a cute French country restaurant called "Girl in a fig" where I had the most delicious parsnip soup, salad, and out-of-this-world creme brule. Next stop was Sebastiani winery, which is right in the Sonoma downtown. Even though I had been there on my previous visit to the area, I wanted to take M there since the people are very friendly and informative. After our wine tasting, we did a tour of the cellars and learned a lot of interesting things about winemaking (including seeing the largest wine barrel made out of redwood).

We then drove through the beautiful Sonoma Valley into the town of Napa past the wine groves and green hills, and and did a wine tasting at another winery called Black Stallion, very posh and actually relatively new to the area (about 3 years old). The grounds were really pretty, with a statue of a black stallion as you enter the premises.


Even though we did end up getting lost a few times on our adventures, we made it to my friend's house for a delicious dinner and great fellowship. Then the jetlag kicked in, and we quickly fell asleep back at our hotel.

The Vatican and other Roman sights

On Saturday, after all work-related stuff was over, I got up early (being the crazy tourist that I am) and once again set out to explore Rome, and once again it was raining (Amsterdam, anyone?). Even though I got to the Vatican Museums quite early, there was a line already, but moving quickly. Once I got in, I opted to get a tour, but had an hour to spare so I left the Vatican premises to get a delicious cappuccino before my tour.

The tour guide turned out to be this old Italian lady that actually gave us a great 2.5 hour overview of the highlights. Of course, the amazing art collection gathered in the Vatican walls cannot possibly be explored in such a short time, but getting even a glimpse of the collection was enough to see its richness. The first few halls that we visited had a lot of white marble statues, with various missing body parts---the reason being their antiquity and a number of "civilizations" that passed over the city, with new fads and plunders. More statues are being excavated as the archaeological digs continue. Some of these statues were quite impressive, but, to be honest, after seeing a number of them, they all sort of blended in.

One thing about the Vatican, which reminded me of some palaces in St Petersburg, were the lavishly decorated walls and ceilings---at one point, I kept walking with my head up because the frescoes and paintings on the ceilings were absolutely breathtaking. I also saw some interesting tapestries from 17th-18th centuries, an art form that I have not seen previously. Another interesting thing was to see so much of art from Greek and Roman mythology (sculpture, paintings, etc) in a Catholic stronghold.

Snapshot of Vatican Museum ceilings

Of course, some of the biggest attractions in the museum are the rooms done by Raphael and Michelangelo. Their styles are definitely different, but both interestingly chose between the Christian and non-Christian themes (mythology, philosophy) to paint their masterpieces. I learned that both worked at the Vatican at the same time (Michelangelo mostly on the Sistine Chapel and Raphael on other rooms in the Vatican).

One of Raphael's ceiling paintings

A wall-wide painting by Michelangelo

However, the most amazing site that left me almost in tears came at the end of the tour. I have heard of the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, but to see it in person was absolutely breathtaking. I stood awestruck for a long time just absorbing the wall-to-wall paintings that were centered around the theme of the Christian Gospel. The central picture in the ceiling depicted man being separated from God, with the rest of the paintings and frescoes focusing on various Biblical stories and characters. Besides the Taj Mahal, this was definitely the most amazing sight that I had ever laid my eyes on. The Chapel is still used, most notably during the election of a new pope.

Still under the impression from the Chapel, I walked into the bright sunlight and open area of St. Peter's Square, the heart of Vatican City (which is, by the way, a separate state within Italy, with its own postal service). It is quite spacious and beautiful in its simplicity. Before rushing of to other sights in Rome, I walked around the grand St. Peter's Basilica, which is by far the most lavish Catholic church I had ever been to. However, its lavishness is actually quite simple, which makes it appear even more grandiose. Near the altar there is a small structure that is supposed to be around the tomb of Apostle Peter---I'm not sure if his remains are actually there, but it did make me think of Jesus' words in Matthew 16 that He would build His church on Peter, the Rock.

Outside of St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square

The next stop on my agenda was the Pantheon, but on my way there I left the state of Vatican (passing by several Embassies:), walked by Castel Sant'Angelo (a nice-looking castle that is also a museum, which I didn't have time to visit), and snapped some pictures of various fountains of the famous Piazza Navona. The Pantheon was another massive structure with a perfectly round hole in its perfectly-constructed rotunda dome (how did the Romans built it?) It was commissioned by one of the Roman emperors as a temple for all ancient Roman gods. The Christian popes later converted it to a Christian church, which is still active today. Interestingly, Raphael's sarcophagus is also found in this eclectic structure.

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

After a quick break of gelato, I rushed off to something that had miraculously fit into my agenda---the famous Capitoline Museums, founded by Michelangelo, who was also a great patron of arts. It is located on the Capitoline Hill and is a home to a lot of marble statues:), some of which are pretty old. The highlights include the bronze statue of the She-Wolf (the adopted mother of the twin founders), a very old statue of Marcus Aurelius, and many other artifacts of ancient Rome.

She-Wolf

The Capitoline Hill is located near the Palatine Hill and overlooks the Forum and the Coliseum. My new camera gave me one of the biggest thrill of my life by taking amazing night pictures of these priceless ruins.

Roman Forum at night

Coliseum at night

Before finishing off the day's adventure with a delicious Italian dinner of homemade pasta, I walked once again by one of my most favorite buildings in Rome, the monument of Victor Emanuel II (Il Vittoriano), the first emperor of unified Italy, the Spanish steps, and another Roman must-see, the Trevi Fountain (I didn't throw in a coin though:). Ahh, so much to see...Rome was indeed one of the most picturesque places that I had been to! Can't wait to go back one day.

Il Vittoriano

Trevi Fountain